Akira Matsudaira -- Minato no Ame (港の雨)

Akira Matsudaira (松平晃) has always been, to me, one of those singers who existed and had a few hits, but never stood out in any way. I think his singing is alright. A little similar to Ichiro Fujiyama's (藤山一郎), but not nearly as clean and precise. He looked alright. Prim and proper, but not nearly as eye catching as Tadaharu Nakano (中野忠晴) or Hisao Ito (伊藤久男). He was just okay. Please don't cancel me, Matsudaira fans.

コロムビア月報正月　昭和12
National Diet Library archives

I know of Matsudaira from his biggest hit "Circus no Uta" (サーカスの唄), one of the classic Koga Melodies which took me a very long time to appreciate. Aside from that, I only became more aware of what else he had to offer very recently, like "Hana Kotoba no Uta" (花言葉の唄) and "Yuuhi wa Ochite" (夕陽は落ちて). I wouldn't say those were instant likes from me either. However, I've recently come to see him A LOT, but not by choice. I think I've mentioned that I've been digging around the National Diet Library's Columbia Records prewar archives for pictures of a certain someone research. Since Akira-san was also from Columbia Records, I'd often see his portraits and casual shots during my excavations. I must admit that there were some amusing photos, one in which he had a moustache and I couldn't get over it. All that naturally made me more a little more curious about the artist I always overlooked.

And so, just about a week or so ago, I decided to be adventurous and picked a Matsudaira tune while doing one of my ryukoka dives just because. That was when I happened across the above video for "Minato no Ame". I had no expectations, so I was pleasantly surprised by what hit my ears. First and foremost, it reminded me a lot of Mr. Nakano's "Yogiri no Minato" (夜霧の港), another harbour-themed tune which was released about a year prior. I love "Yogiri no Minato", which could be why I took to "Minato no Ame" immediately. Like the former, the latter has a jaunty, somewhat cheery melody, but there is a layer of sadness not unlike a dense and chilly fog resting over the dark waters of the bay. "Minato no Ame", has an ever so slightly jazzy flavour with the light tinkling of the piano during the instrumental sections, which is what I found most enjoyable about it. As for its words, it features our protagonist, probably at a bar by a harbour, drinking away his sorrows and bitter memories of a breakup that came flooding back with the downpour outside. The straight manner in which Akira-san relays his lines is probably what I would think the Meiji/Taisho enka (艶歌) style sounds like. But perhaps its his higher, more nasally vocal quality and an overall softer delivery that allows for the protagonist's sadness to be conveyed amid the buoyant melody.

"Minato no Ame" was released in March 1933 as the B-side to Ms. Columbia’s (Misao Matsubara) “Ukigusa no Uta” (浮草の唄). Looking at the archives, this song seems to be Akira-san's first recording upon signing on to Columbia, and it seemed to be a decent hit since it was still being talked about months after it hit the shelves. The music was composed by Yoshi Eguchi (江口夜詩) and the lyrics were provided by Sonosuke Sato (佐藤惣之助), both of whom would go on to create some of the ryukoka world's most significant hits. 

This article makes it sound like I dislike Akira-san, but I don't. I was just more ambivalent to his presence until now. I'm glad I came across "Minato no Ame" because it finally made me see “Akira Matsudaira” and not just a ryukoka singer who existed. Coincidentally, today (8th March) is Akira-san's death anniversary. I didn't plan this as a dedication article, but I thought it apt that me appreciating his works at long last came at just the right time.   

コロムビア月報4月　昭和12
National Diet Library archives

P.S. There he is: Moustache Akira╰( ´︶` )╯! I knew I wasn’t hallucinating while my stomach ran on empty on a previous NDL expedition a few weeks ago. Yes, I went again just yesterday to uncover more info on some songs and this image, among other things... No, I wasn't (deliberately) looking for Nakano this time. Y’know, even though I was trying my best to stifle a laugh upon first witnessing this, the more I look at it, the more I think Akira-san looked good with facial hair. I've never seen any other photo of him with a moustache, so I wonder if this was just a one time look.